As Damon and Hana stepped out of the temporary rescue tent, the cold evening breeze brushed against them, carrying the faint metallic scent of destroyed gates and burnt monster flesh.
Damon slowed his steps and glanced at Hana.
"Are you okay? We should go see a doctor at the camp… get you checked before we leave."
Hana shook her head quickly.
"I'm fine, really. I'm just… dirty from all the crying and running around."
"And I didn't even get time to fix my appearance."
Her voice softened, eyes lowering.
"I feel a little guilty for not coming sooner." i thought to myself.
⟦You should also feel guilty for not satisfying me⟧
Aphrodite teased in his mind, her voice dripping with mock sultriness.
Damon exhaled sharply through his nose.
'Are you serious right now?'
But he didn't respond beyond that.
They walked past the tents, heading toward the exit of the rescue area.
Hana tugged at his sleeve.
"Brother… are you really going to participate in the exams? You just awakened."
"Many people have been training their abilities for months already."
"That's true," Damon admitted, "but I can't just accept an E-rank pass, can I?"
He forced a smile as they continued walking toward the road that led home.
I just hope the house is still standing, he thought grimly.
Hana looked up at him again, curiosity sparkling.
"Brother… what's your ability?"
Damon paused for a moment, searching for words that would sound normal instead of… perverted.
"It's summoning," he said.
"I can summon… different types of humanoid fighters."
⟦RUDE!⟧ Aphrodite shouted in his mind, scandalized.
He ignored her.
Hana's eyes widened.
"Woah! Humanoid-type fighters? That's super rare!"
" Only a few summoners can make humanoid summons—and almost all of them are high-ranked ones!"
She practically bounced beside him.
"That's true," Damon replied.
Her excitement only grew.
"Even the strongest summoner—the Elementalist—he's a humanoid type too, right?"
"Yes," Damon said with a small laugh.
"Wow, brother! You'll definitely become an S-rank someday! Hehehe!"
If anyone else heard her, they would laugh in her face.
But Damon couldn't help smiling as he reached over and gently patted her head.
Then she slowed, her expression turning a bit thoughtful and sad.
"But brother… didn't you always want to be a close-combat type? Like Uncle?"
Damon shrugged lightly.
"It's okay. What can we do? What matters is that I'm a hunter now."
Aphrodite hummed in his head.
⟦You're not going to tell her about the leveling up?⟧
Damon answered internally.
'She doesn't need to know. Not until.... I become strong enough to protect her.'
'Once i became strong enough I will reveal everything to her.'
I have no intention of hiding about my true ability from her, But telling her now is not the best idea. After all infinite potential is unheard of.
And a system like those from Novels? No one, not even world rankers have awakened a system. So it's too risky to tell her now.
---
The sun had already dipped low by the time we reached the edge of our neighborhood.
But the moment I turned the corner… I froze.
Collapsed houses. Crushed street lamps. Deep claw marks carved into the asphalt. Burned cars scattered like toys.
"…What the hell happened here?" I whispered.
A nearby rescue officer noticed me and walked over.
"You live here, kid? This area was hit by a cluster of B and B+ rank monsters. A Basilisk, a Gore Hound Alpha, and a Thunder Rhino broke out from a breached gate."
My stomach twisted.
Entire rows of houses lay shattered—roofs caved in, walls reduced to rubble, furniture sticking out like exposed bones.
And then…
My home.
Or… what remained of it.
More than seventy-five percent destroyed.
Broken beams. Scorched tiles. Half the living room completely missing.
Hana grabbed my sleeve tightly. "Brother… our house…"
"Yeah… I know." I exhaled slowly. "We're not staying here. We'll live in an inn for a few days."
---
The inn wasn't fancy, but it was clean, quiet, and safe. They gave me and Hana two separate rooms.
Hana went in to wash up, leaving me alone with Aphrodite's voice echoing lazily in my mind.
⟦Sooo~ Damon, what are you going to do now? If you sell that Minotaur core, you can easily buy a house bigger than your old one.⟧
"I'm not selling it," I said, dropping onto the bed. "For the next five days, I'll be training for the exam. That comes first."
⟦Hoh? Serious Damon mode. I like that.⟧
I opened the small storage box I carried.
Inside were two things:
A pair of black hand-claws, shaped like the Japanese tezukagi. Sleek, obsidian-colored, edges slightly curved. My father's.
And a thin old book—worn, leather-bound, handwritten.
"The Shadow Claw Doctrine"
These claws were the only thing that returned from that gate.
"These are Dad's," I murmured. "If I want to be close-combat, I need to master this art."
⟦Is your goal B rank for the exam?⟧
"Yes. After unlocking a cheat system like this Lust God System… failing to get even B rank would be disappointing."
⟦Pfft—true enough.⟧
I leaned back.
"Actually, there's something I wanted to ask."
⟦And what might that be?⟧
"How the hell am I level 16? I just awakened."
⟦Remember that Minotaur? When I killed it, you got fifty percent of its experience.⟧
"I had a feeling, but still… fifty percent is insane. Normal summoners only get around twenty to twenty-five percent. Thirty if they're lucky."
⟦That's because your summons aren't ordinary.⟧
I didn't argue. She was right.
⟦By the way, what are you going to do about summoning?⟦
"What do you mean?"
⟦I mean—who are you going to summon? You have three unlocked choices, remember?⟧
"Yeah… let's take a look."
I raised my hand.
---
SYSTEM
[ Tier C – Elemental Girls ]
• Fire Sylph — Unlocked
• Water Naiad — Unlocked
• Light Fairy — Unlocked
---
"Fire Sylph, Water Naiad, Light Fairy," I muttered.
"Can you explain them?"
⟦Just tap on their display, Damon.⟧
Her voice carried a teasing edge—but also a hint of excitement.
I reached toward the first option.
And tapped.
---
=========================
SUMMON PROFILE
=========================
[ Name: Fire Sylph ]
[ Tier: C – Elemental Girl ]
[ Class: C-Class Assault Spirit ]
[ Status: Unlocked ]
[ Summon Cost: 100 Summon Energy ]
-----------------------------
CORE INFORMATION
-----------------------------
• Race: Flame Sylphid
• Body Type: Humanoid Elemental
• Element: Fire
---------------------
ABILITIES
---------------------
[ Crimson Bolt ]
• Concentrates fire into a compressed projectile capable of piercing B-rank monster hides.
(8 sec cooldown)
[ Inferno Step ]
• High-speed dash that ignites the ground beneath her, creating delayed flame eruptions.
(20 sec cooldown)
[ Ignition Veil ]
• A defensive flame mantle that reduces incoming damage by 25% and burns attackers on contact.
(30 sec cooldown)
[ Blaze Construct ]
• Creates a temporary weapon made of living fire (blade, spear, or staff).
Weapon lasts 60 seconds or until destroyed.
-----------------------------
SYNC SKILL (Borrowable)
-----------------------------
[ Ember Edge ]
• User's melee attacks gain fire coating, increasing cutting power and applying burn damage for 15 seconds.
(Once per summon cycle)
=========================
"Ah… I don't even know where to start," he muttered.
⟦ Just read. If anything confuses you, ask me. ⟧
"First—this uses all my summon energy?"
⟦ Yes. A Tier C summon requires exactly 100 summon energy. ⟧
"And this Sync Skill… I can use it only when she's summoned?"
⟦ Correct. But only once per summon. ⟧
"So do every summon gives a sync skill or just she does?"
⟦ Yes. Each one grants a unique temporary skill—usable once per summon cycle. ⟧
He sighs. "Hmm… not bad at all."
⟦ Not bad? Do you even hear yourself? You're getting a free skill every time you summon one of us. Your standards rose way too quickly for someone who awakened today. ⟧
"Ah… yeah, sorry. Everything happened so fast. I didn't mean it that way." He raised both hands.
"Okay? I'm sorry. Can we move to the next one?"
A short pause.
⟦ …Fine. Tap the next display. ⟧
---